NEW DELHI, May 4: Delhi Police busted an organised racket that allegedly duped NEET aspirants and their families by promising guaranteed MBBS admissions and arrested four people, including the suspected mastermind and a doctor, an official said on Monday.
Eighteen students, which included minors, were rescued from the alleged fraudsters, who had taken them to undisclosed locations on the pretext of providing “exam questions” — ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 examination on May 3, police said.
The “fake” question papers were allegedly created using previous years’ material and coaching institute content.
They allegedly demanded Rs 20 to 30 lakh from families of the students and took a token payment, claiming to get them guaranteed seats in medical colleges.
The action was initiated following specific input received on May 2 from Surat Police about a suspect operating from Delhi and claiming to facilitate medical admissions through NEET. Technical surveillance led investigators to Mahipalpur Extension, where multiple hotels were searched.
The police eventually zeroed in on four accused persons staying at a hotel, including Vinod Bhai Bhikha Bhai Patel, who had allegedly lured aspirants from Gujarat.
During questioning, it emerged that the accused had collected large sums of money, original class 10 and 12 mark sheets, and blank signed cheques from parents in exchange for false assurances of securing MBBS seats.
Investigators said the accused had taken some students away from their guardians. Police laid a trap near a hospital in Ghaziabad and rescued three students while apprehending the alleged mastermind, Santosh Kumar Jaiswal. Subsequent raids at a flat in Ghaziabad led to the rescue of 15 more students, some of whom were minors scheduled to appear in the NEET exam on May 3.
They were counselled and allowed to sit for the examination, police said. Two more accused — Sant Pratap Singh and Dr Akhlaq Alam alias Golden Alam — were arrested from the flat.
Police said the gang had devised a well-planned modus operandi to exploit the aspirations of medical aspirants. Jaiswal allegedly conceptualised the scheme, while Alam prepared fake question papers using previous years’ material and coaching institute content. Singh arranged logistics and accommodation, and Patel acted as a broker to approach families.
The accused allegedly demanded Rs 20 to 30 lakh from each applicant and collected token payments, documents and cheques as part of the fraud.
During the operation, police recovered 149 pages of purported questionanswer material, three blank signed cheques belonging to victims, and other incriminating documents.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network. (Agencies)
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